


Another Home

by BackwaterOtter



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Classic dadcher, First work in a long while, I think it'll be very nice :)!, So I'm open to all criticism!!!, but with a sprinkle of mustache girl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24127900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BackwaterOtter/pseuds/BackwaterOtter
Summary: Following the finale of A Hat in Time, Mustache Girl takes some time to consider her options in a world that hasn’t taken as nicely to her as it had before.
Relationships: Mustache Girl & Snatcher (A Hat in Time)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 70





	1. Plotting

There were a myriad of things that just wouldn’t go well for Mustache Girl, despite her best attempts. Reclaiming her home was the biggest one if the cave that she lived in was anything to go by. The Mafia would always figure out some way to knock her back down, even as she stood back up time and time again, challenging them in her small ways, with her little tricks.  
  
They never did do much.  
  
And then along came Hat Kid, with a solution to her problems that she wouldn’t hand over. Even though Mustache Girl could understand her reasoning now, it didn’t mean she had to _like_ it. Just acknowledge it. Acknowledge the way she’d gone overboard, with her attempt to be the Judge, Jury, and Executioner all at once, and her defeat in front of practically everyone on the planet.  
  
Things had only grown worse since the fight. No one looked on her with pity like they used to, and she had a feeling that the Mafia, idiotic as they were, knew where she was residing and had plans to deal with her, and she had no idea what she would do then. Sure, there was the time piece she’d received as a gift, but something had prevented her from using it, a little gut feeling that she shouldn’t be touching anything like that anymore.  
  
Thus, she was stuck trying to plan her next move from her cave, scrawling on that blackboard of hers various ideas, scribbling them out, consolidating, and continuing. It was doubtful that anyone would let her reside with them peacefully after all, and she didn’t have as much knowledge of her planet as she thought, only a vague idea of major regions, of which she’d only visited one outside of Mafia Town. Additionally, everything was incredibly far by her own standards- lacking any kind of boat outside of a simple rowboat- so any travel would have to be certain and worthwhile

She twirled her mustache in thought, trying to draw her mind back to the fight she’d had, the people there, and what little quirks she may have picked up on. The Conductor and DJ Grooves were clear no-goes, she’d seen their shared studio before, and the odds of her convincing either to let her do a little work was pretty unlikely. The goats, silent as they may be, were still rather apparent in their opinion of her, and though she’d seen pictures of their islands and how separated they were- perfect for setting up a hidden living space- she lacked a single key item. A hookshot.  
  
Mustache Girl tried to think back to the view of the planet she’d seen from Hat Kid’s spaceship but found herself dwelling on other things. The room filled with pillows, the soft, comfy bed, the food she’d nicked from the fridge when the other kid wasn’t looking. A feeling tugged at Mustache Girls’ chest, longing for that once more, for a renewed friendship that she’d destroyed almost all ties to.  
  
The chalk she was using snapped in half.

She glanced down at her hand, the white, powdery dust having gotten her clothing just a tad messy. She picked out the big pieces, setting them down on the rim of the board so she could dust herself off, possibly go for a little stroll. She looked back at the board, the frustrated X’s that plagued it, the little doodles she’d made to help her follow along only serving to forward her irritation, and she didn’t even know why.  
  
Yeah, a stroll would be good, just around the edges of the island.  
  
Or, it would have been good, if the darkened clouds that covered the sky- indicative of rain to come soon- hadn’t chosen now to show themselves. She sighed, riffling through her few belongings for the small tarp made for specifically these kinds of scenarios, a little more protection from the rain. Of course, it wasn’t always out, but primarily so she wouldn’t exacerbate the holes in the material. A few holes were better than useless, after all.  
  
It took her a little bit of caution, exiting the cave for the first time in a fair while, but she already had her mind set on what she was doing. The other end of the tarp lagged slightly behind as she made her way up the rocky exterior of her humble abode, six large pins nestled underneath one arm which jangled as she took each precarious step.

As she reached the top, she set two pins down within tiny crevices, latching the tar on at the top, and swiftly moving to the sides, then pinning down a portion of the bottom. Please with her preparation work, and choosing to ignore one of the growing holes in the tarp, Mustache Girl chose to wander the island, looking around mostly for a fish or two to take- it wasn’t as if the Mafia would miss it.  
  


A little bit of jumping around revealed that there was some ripe for the taking from the currently empty market place. A smile crossed her face, as she considered grabbing some cheese as well, and possibly a bucket-full of stuff should she find the bucket needed to carry it all in..  
  
She scurried her way up the broken staircase, smirking as she discovered an overturned bucket in the corner of the room. She grabbed a variety of cheeses- they’d last longer- and some fish as well. She gave one more quick look around before she heard the sounds of Mafia goons approaching- from both directions. That’s inconveniencing, though maybe she could hear a bit more about their plans if she hid out nearby. The market goons were the most likely to talk after all, since barely anyone came there to actually buy anything.

Mustache Girl found herself beneath the empty table that sold shirts, a little smile on her face as she got herself all set to listen in on the group. Sure, her dress would get dirty, but any knowledge was good knowledge!  
  
It was quiet for a good long while, and she almost regretted it, but then one of them spoke up.  
  


“Mafia is having good day, what about other Mafia?” Spoke the man at the fish stand.

“Mafia is having good day as well. Mafia had very important meeting.” Responded the man at the cheese stand.

“What was important meeting about, fellow Mafia?”  
  
“Mafia decide to deal with little Red Mustache Girl, finally! Mafia has very big plan.”  
  
Mustache Girl remained deathly silent as the man at the cheese stand disclosed the details of this “Very Big Plan”. It was pretty simple, actually, and may have caught her off guard if she’d known nothing of it. In basic, they intended to swarm her little cave-home and take on of the boats to dump her on one of the deserted islands far from here.

She repressed a little snort at the concept of the plan, shuffling out from under the table and jumping over, sliding down the wall.

  
“What is she doing here? Red Mustache Girl is to get lost!” Called out the man at the fish stand. Evidently, he had noticed her. She broke into a little sprint, making sure that no one was following after her, and that the contents of the bucket were still there. She was pleasantly surprised to find everything still there and soon returned to her tarp-covered cave.  
  
She set the bucket down in the little nook that contained her stuff, grabbing one of the fish and beginning to cook it over the fire.  
  
Soon, the girl had eaten her fill and returned to plotting, just as the rain started coming down.  
  
With a full stomach, she was able to make her decision a bit easier. She could always travel to the desert that contained dead-bird studios and continue from there, but then there was the big purple mark on the globe, Subcon Forest.  
  
She had a few general ideas of what would await there, she’d seen the man who runs the place during her fight with Hat Kid, after all. Mustache Girl was pretty certain he had something to do with contracts, she’d seen a glimpse of that as he coerced one of the huge goats to toss explosive apples out for Hat Kid to use against her.  
  
And then, Mustache Girl had an idea.  
  
She dug through her stuff, uncovering the unused Time Piece and smiling. Maybe this was the gut feeling that drove her to keep the object in perfect condition. The best bargaining chip there was, no doubt about it.  
  
With a smile on her face, she grabbed one of the wanted posters of herself she kept around, beginning to scrawl out terms and conditions on the back.


	2. Testing The Waters

Mustache Girl had finished laying out her plan surprisingly quickly, the poster that contained that contract she’d written secured with a little ribbon, slipped inside a tied up plastic bag she’d had for some of her other less-than-waterproof supplies. There were a few other things in that bag, such as her 2 other outfits, some of those little bombs of hers, and more paper, but otherwise, the bag was pretty empty.

The storm that had started the night prior still raged on, but she supposed that could be a good thing, with all the mafia goons likely inside for the day, she had plenty of time to get herself extra prepared. Plus, rain was always good for keeping clean.

Upon awakening, she’d taken the time to wash at least one of her 2 other outfits in the harsh rain, cleaned herself off in a sheltered area, even, and soon enough she was pretty clean. She turned back to the cave, dropping her stuff off and grabbing the grey poncho she kept for whenever she needed to stay dry.

With a smirk, she stepped back outside and took stock of the island. Empty, just as she expected. With this in mind, she began to make her way around the island, to the docks. She had to take a bit of time to inspect the boats, maybe find a manual.

She was unpleasantly surprised by the presence of mafia goons still at the docks, talking about their various woes that she couldn’t give one peck about. Getting around them would be a bit of trouble, she had to be stealthy about this, they were pretty careful when it came to their boats. She needed a distraction.

Mustache Girl picked up a can, tossing it around in one hand as she considered her options from the safety of the rooftops. Luckily for her, the course of nature would make it far easier for her.

She felt the way her mustache puffed up ever so slightly as electricity jumped through the air, coalescing on a single point- the huge flag at the end of the docs. 

First came the blinding light of the bolt, dancing through the air with ease to connect with the flag, barely catching the attention of a few mafia goons before the resounding boom of the strike finally revealed itself, catching even Mustache Girl by surprise. She practically jumped, dropping the can off of the roof she was perched on, scrabbling to keep hold on her place.

The smell of smoke quickly followed, alongside the panicked voices of the mafia goons below. This was her chance.

Jumping down from her perch, she hurried over to the closest boat in their vicinity while the mafia goons were dealing with the flag pole (which had apparently splintered on closer observation), the only sound she made being the little pitter patter of her feet on water. She jumped up and hoisted herself over the rails of the boat, which smelt way too strongly of fish, with a little smirk on her face No one was aboard- she already knew that of course- allowing her to break into the cabin in peace.

Well, she didn’t break in, because that’d be loud in obvious, she just opened the unlocked door, but she’d like to say that she’d made an epic break-in. 

Mustache Girl quietly closed the door, smirking as she began her search in the cramped space. It should be relatively simple, after all, even with the storm raging outside.

The room was rather small, 3 windows on each side, with a chair for whomever was steering. In the back, there was a simple bookshelf and desk, as well as various mafia paraphernalia. A small lamp had also found its way onto the desk, as well as writing supplies. What these bozo’s would use those for, Mustache Girl didn’t know.

With a quick glance around, she’d also identified a few maps and compasses, pausing before taking one of the maps for herself, it’d be pretty useful to make sure she had one for planning, after all. Finished with taking stock of the area, her search for the instruction manual began.

She started with the obvious places, glove compartment, the shelf, various little nooks and crannies. It all came up with next to nothing, and that was, quite possibly, the most infuriating thing in this endeavour.   
  
“Why can’t these mafia goons just keep their stupid books in some place obvious?” Mustache Girl grumbled, dusting off her hands as she got off the floor, taking a generous peek around the room once again. No manual in sight, so how would these idiots ever know how to pilot a ship?

She crossed her arms, tapping one foot as she considered this. It’s possible that Mafia Boss kept them for himself to distribute when necessary, but she felt like that’d be too much of a hassle for the man.

Finally, she resigned for the moment, choosing to instead grab another one of the maps from the side alongside some writing supplies. It wouldn’t be the best, per-say, but Mustache Girl managed to scribble down the various controls for the ship, pocketing that in the same place as the map.

Now, it was time for her daring escape. Or, it would’ve been daring if the vast majority of the mafia goons were even paying attention. Most weren’t looking anywhere near the ships, and the few who were seemed to be having a quiet conversation. The poncho obscured her well enough for the few that were talking, and she was certain there were fish guts on the docks in case things went south and she needed to disguise herself.

Having this plan in mind, she exited the cabin, hoisting herself over the side once more to land on the docks, beginning to scoot her way down past the idiots that guarded the place. It worked well enough, with barely any note to her form, obscured by grey in the darkened setting, and she’d soon arrived back at her little cave.

With a huff, she deposited what she’d gotten on the floor, leaving the poncho to dry by the fire. The map was surprisingly accurate to what she’d seen from Hat Kid’s ship. A smile crossed Mustache Girl’s face as she began to scrawl her path on the map in red. 

With that complete, she turned to her sketch of the various controls for the ship. She’d have to go over them some day soon, after all, so she might as well make it today. It wasn’t as if she had anything better to do.

And so began her guesstimates regarding what each little thing did. Most were wrong, of course, ships didn’t have things like “super hyper mega drives” after all, but she supposed she knew the basics, all things considered.

Soon enough, night had fallen once more, storm still raging on, and Mustache Girl once again ate her fill and chose to rest.

* * *

Just barely, over the quieting crackle of the campfire and the sounds of the storm outside, she heard voices. Faint, but they were there, only just loud enough to wake her Mustache Girl.

She suppressed a groan, glancing up ever so slightly in an attempt to catch sight of whoever it was that had woken her from her slumber. She had a big day of searching tomorrow, how could they interrupt her rest that way!?

Mustache Girl had frozen, however, as she took note of how much speaking it was, and the proximity. Of course, mafia goons. She’s not entirely certain what else she expected, but it was still so… Jarring to hear them so close, when normally they’d avoid the cave she lived in.

She strained her ears to listen in.

“Mafia thinks net is confusing. Too many hole. How much is net?” Mused one of the goons. “Mafia thinks box would be better for containing little red hooded menace.” 

“Mafia thinks net is fine, many hole confuse red hooded menace.” The other spoke. 

The other conversations held some similarities. Nothing of interest here, she supposed. With a stretch she got up, looking over her things. They were definitely here to kick her out, though. It was a little blessing how few things she had, as it meant that she had far less to pack than before. The timepiece stayed with her, close, as did the contract she’d written up and other things in the bag. The bucket also joined her list of things, although the fish were already starting to smell off, so she knew she’d have to get rid of those soon.

Setting her hands on her hips with a smile, she added another strike to her mafia sabotage wall, making sure she had everything on her before she tossed on the ponch over it all. She wouldn’t stamp out the first, but she did take the time to peek through the tarp, before frowning. She didn’t exactly have a plan for this, without the boat’s manual. She was, quite frankly, lost on what she should do.

There was a little click above her- the sound of the top hook of the tarp being removed- so she had to think fast. They had said they intended to send her off by boat, didn’t they? One of them would have to have the manual, that’s for certain.  Another two clicks and she’d already relaxed. She had a general plan, beat the boat guys up and take herself to her planned destination. That would work well enough.

By the removal of the last 2 hooks that would reveal her, she’d already sat back down, lounging with a smug look on her face.

The mafia goons had a surprised look, as if they’d expected her to run out like some trapped bird. She hadn’t, of course, because she wasn’t a trapped bird. She even spoke in her normal, peppy tone, despite the feeling of exhaustion that was catching up to her. “Took you long enough!”

“Uhm… Mafia is uncertain what to do about this.” One of them spoke up.

“Mafia recommend little girl menace get in net, then no one get hurt.” Came another, the same who was questioning the holes.

“Alright, alright. I’m not here to cause a fuss!” Mustache Girl held her hands up. “I’ll get in peacefully, just let me bring my things along!” 

The groups of goons blinked, looking between each other- another unexpected development from her, most likely. The chattering was a little annoying though, to be fair.

“Mafia think this is reasonable.” One finally spoke up, the apparent ringleader of this small operation if their neat police badge on the hat was anything to go by.

“Yes. Mafia agree.” Spoke the others with a little nod.

She smiled, standing up carefully and making her way over with her things. One of the goons held it up, and she found herself plopping down in the poorly-made net. The net in question was hoisted up, and she was quite glad there was no blindfold as they drew close to one ship, not the one she’d broken into, it seems. She was plopped down below deck, promptly left to her own accord in the musty area.


End file.
